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Beyond cheering  By Hatem Babiker Awad Al-Karim  The Inevitability of Gulf Reconciliation and the Gulf's Security Future -1-2 Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, 27.11.2019, chaired the second meeting of the Saudi-UAE Coordination Council hosted by the capital Abu Dhabi. The second meeting of the council "comes in the light of the ongoing efforts exerted by the two countries to activate joint cooperation axes to integrate them economically, developmentally, knowledge and military, while participating in the meeting of the Council members and the heads of the Executive Committee and the General Secretariat of the Executive Committee," according to the UAE News Agency " Wam. " This meeting is an indication of the proximity of the Gulf reconciliation because it considers the alternative circle created by Saudi Arabia and the UAE as an alternative to the Gulf Cooperation Council, w...

Sudanese people celebrate in the streets of Khartoum after ruling generals and protest leaders announced they have reached an agreement on July 6. (AP) Sudan has a remarkable, unexpected second chance at popular rule By Editorial Board  July 10, 2019  GIVEN HOW discouraging the situation in Sudan looked a few weeks ago, after a terrible massacre and uncertain end to three decades of despotism under President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, it is reassuring to see that democracy-seeking protesters and the military council have agreed on a power-sharing plan leading to eventual civilian control. Now, it appears at least possible that Sudan will have a chance at popular rule. The power-sharing agreement provides for the creation of a sovereign council with 11 members, five of them civilians, five picked by the military and the 11th to be jointly designated. The council will rule for 21 months under a military leader, then 18 months under a civilian, before giving way to elections a...

Protesters call for the extradition of ousted president Omar Bashir in Khartoum, Sudan, on Sept. 23. (Marwan Ali/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) Seize this moment in Sudan By Rebecca Hamilton  September 30, 2019  Sudan is in the midst of a once-in-a-generation moment. Courageous and persistent pro-democracy protesters, who broke the grip on power that president Omar Hassan al-Bashir had held for three decades, have now succeeded in bringing civilian reformers into leadership positions. The significance of this moment might be overlooked by anyone who expects a democratic transition to be heralded by a headline-making event akin to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The democratic opening of Sudan (population 42 million) is equivocal, precarious — but no less historic. In Khartoum, military commanders sit alongside civilian officials in a transitional arrangement that makes everyone uneasy. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, is on the power-sharing sovereign council t...

A train carrying protesters from Atbara, the birthplace of an uprising that toppled Sudan's former president Omar al-Bashir, approaches a Khartoum train station to support demonstrators outside the defense ministry compound on April 23. (Umit Bektas/Reuters) Sudan is still waiting for justice. The world can’t look away. By Mohamed Osman  November 25, 2019 Mohamed Osman is a Sudanese human rights lawyer based in Germany. On a hot May afternoon in Khartoum, less than a month after the ouster of former Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir, I met a 29-year-old college graduate at a tent that served as a base for Darfuri protesters near the army headquarters. The protesters had vowed to stay until the military leaders who took over when Bashir stepped down transferred power to civilian rulers. “I am worried that political compromises [by the military] would lead to a situation of, ‘Let’s move on,’ ” he told me. “Every single one of us here at the sit-in has a story with [the...

Stay Strong, Go Long – Bulletproof Russia Becomes Contrarian Haven It’s a tough road being a contrarian on Russia. This is especially true today when the entirety of the U.S. and European political system is aligned to demonize Russia at nearly every level. And the main reason for this is that Russia under President Vladimir Putin refuses to do the West’s bidding both at home and abroad. The central tenet of U.S. foreign policy is that U.S. concerns, no matter where they are, are supreme and everyone else’s are subordinate. Russia under Putin doesn’t play that game. He hasn’t for nearly twenty years now. This is not to say, of course, that objectively speaking Putin is a good man or even a good leader. In studying Putin for the past seven years I’ve come to one inescapable conclusion. He was exactly the leader Russia needed to dig the country out of the abyss it found itself in when he took over. He is exactly the kind of leader Russia needs to guide it through the next period of...

United States Ambassador to Juba The United States recalls its ambassador from South Sudan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday summoned its ambassador to South Sudan, Thomas Hoshik, to consult and reassess relations over the failure of Juba parties to form a unity government. The US State Department said in a statement that it had summoned the "US ambassador to South Sudan for consultations on the recent failure of the parties to form a transitional government of national unity by the November 12 deadline." "While in Washington, Ambassador Hshek will meet with senior US government officials as part of a reassessment of the US relationship with the Government of Southern Sudan in the light of recent developments," it added. “The United States stands with the people of South Sudan in their quest for peace, and will work in partnership with the region to support efforts to achieve peace and a successful political transition in South Sudan.” ...

Video Mark Meadows: Impeachment hearing produced this 'real bombshell' GOP Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, hammered America's ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, during Wednesday's testimony, seizing on Sondland's admission that he never heard the president or anyone else in the White House explicitly link Ukrainian aid with the opening of an investigation into 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., applauded his colleague on producing "the real bombshell" of Sondland's long-anticipated testimony and marked the moment as "game over," for the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry. That inquiry is focusing on an alleged quid pro quo between President Trump and Ukraine linking military aid and White House access to Ukraine probes beneficial to Trump. During a fiery exchange, Turner focused on the Republican Party's main defense of Trump, asking Sondland: "Is that your testim...